Fanatics Sportsbook goes live in Illinois, its 19th state in the US

Fanatics Betting and Gaming launched the Fanatics Sportsbook in Illinois on Friday. Bettors living in and visiting Illinois are now able to download the app on iOS and Android. Illinois marks the 19th state for the product.

On April 3, the company completed its acquisition of the U.S. businesses of PointsBet and transferred the remaining entities to Fanatics. This includes all of the remaining entities that make up PointsBet’s US B2C gambling operations, Banach Technology, a copy of the PointsBet platform, and a license to use that proprietary technology platform.

Fanatics said its sportsbook will be available to 95% of the addressable online sports bettor market in the US following this closure. The remaining tasks include migrating New Jersey and Illinois from PointsBet to Fanatics, which will happen "in the next 30 days."

The company has laid out the main features of the Fanatics Sportsbook. The app was built natively on iOS and Android, with its design, speed and quality of navigation "rivaling the sports betting apps in the market today that were not built specifically for iOS and Android."

The product also features FanCash, which is given to customers while wagering and can be spent on bonus bets or at Fanatics.com. It further has a Discover page featuring marquee games, trending bets, promos, and rewards; and Search functionality, including a search bar, recent searches, autocomplete, synonym/alias, and deep linking. 

As per the announcement, Fanatics will upgrade the four PointsBet retail locations in Illinois with new signage, enhanced odds screens, and brand-new self-service betting kiosks from SUZOHAPP. The locations include Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero; Crazy Pour Sports Bar in Villa Park; Club Hawthorne in Crestwood; and Players Pub & Grill in Prospect Heights.

By the end of the month, Fanatics will be operating online in 20 states, including Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, pending regulatory approvals. Fanatics Casino is available online in Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia with New Jersey to follow. Fanatics will also provide betting operations to 19 retail locations, including the only retail sportsbook inside an NFL stadium at Commanders Field in Maryland.

Mark Hughes and Aonghus Mulvihill will join the executive leadership team at Fanatics Betting and Gaming from PointsBet USA. In addition, more than 200 PointsBet employees are joining FBG in a variety of roles and the company has taken over the leases of the former PointsBet offices in Denver, CO, and Dublin, Ireland.

Over the last year, Fanatics has taken over from PointsBet in each of the states it was operational. Last month it took over PointsBet’s operations in Kansas, while also rolling out in North Carolina when the state officially launched its legal sports betting market.